Monday, November 21, 2011

The abbot of the Great and Holy Monastery of Vatopedi, Archimandrite Ephraim, spoke with Elder Sophrony of blessed memory at the Holy Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Essex, England on 20 September 1992.From this meeting, one is struck by Elder Sophrony’s spirituality and ascetic vision, and can appreciate the value of his contribution to the contemporary life of the Church.

The abbot of the Great and Holy Monastery of Vatopaidi, Archimandrite Ephraim, in the garden of the Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Essex (1992) with Elder Sophrony, among the many pilgrims who found spiritual comfort near the venerable Elder

Elder Sophrony: “O Heavenly King and Comforter, the Spirit of truth, who art in all places and fillest all things, treasury of blessings and giver of life, come and abide in us and cleanse us of all that defileth, and save our souls, oh Thou who are good.” Welcome, holy abbot…

If during our conversation I do anything unusual, please forgive me. These days I don’t hear or see very well.

Archimandrite Ephraim: Considering your age, you’re doing very well.

E.S.: Ninety-six years old…I’ll tell them to bring us the letter from Vatopedi from our archives.

A.E.: Yes, I would like to see it.

E.S.: You know, I’m one of your own.

A.E.: This is a blessing for us.

E.S.: I don’t know. It is a blessing for me, that they gave me leave with such willingness. And circumstances have shown that God blessed it. After I left the Holy Mountain, though, I became very ill. I had a stomach ulcer and I suffered from gastrorrhagia, I was also very poor. I had to undergo a difficult operation, and they had to remove nearly my whole stomach. For twelve years I had great difficulty eating. I got something later on, but it’s fake.

A.E.: It was God’s will, Elder, that you came here.

E.S.: I’ll tell you what, abbot, I’m always afraid to say that something [from God] happens to me, but it seems to me that nothing took place according to how I imagined it, but everything came from God.

A.E.: This is what the conscience of the Church also witnesses to, it seems that it was from God. And that it is a work that has a history behind it. And [this monastery’s] history has been stamped by God, that’s what the facts witness to.

E.S.: Yes, but I am only bold enough to say, “Lord have mercy on me and save me.” Only to a certain extent can I say that it happened according to the providence of God.

A.E.: Elder, your monastery is an oasis in the desert [of a culture] of materialism.

E.S.: We’re just…eh! How can I explain it to you…we’re thankful to those who rule this country, and to the queen, and other officials. But Orthodox life outside of Greece is difficult. Not all of our thought: theological, ascetical…connects with the tradition of the West, with the Catholics and Protestants. But these are the ones who rule this place.

A.E.: From everything I have observed here, Elder, you live wisely. During the years that you have been here, you have acted with great discernment, which is why you’ve been able to help people greatly in hidden ways. And this is a very important thing for a spiritual person.

E.S.: Well…let me tell you. You’re an abbot. And I was, in a certain way, an abbot. And I was always hung from a thread above the abyss, shouting at God for everyone, for everything…because nothing happens by human strength.

A.E.: And I’m sure that you must have had many difficulties here, Elder.

E.S.: Oh…it’s better not to talk about them…. But even this, to a certain extent, is a question for us. Recently, I published a book, a spiritual autobiography [We Shall See Him as He Is].

A.E.: We’ve read it, Elder.

E.S.: Of what interest would a purely factual biography have been? I only recount spiritual events in this book. And the book has appeared, somehow, at just the right time.

A.E.: What you have provided is a living witness.

E.S.: I didn’t write a theological text, I only wrote down my experience, from fear and because I’m bold to say, “Lord have mercy, Lord save me.” But…I don’t understand…. I became ill many times with fatal sicknesses and yet I’m still alive. I don’t know why…

A.E.: The Church needs you, which is why God has extended your life. Your life is a miracle. We are amazed at how you are still living considering the illnesses you have had and still have. Many spiritual people are amazed that you’re still alive.

E.S.: In 1986 they invented a machine that can diagnose cancer and they opened me up and found that I had the worst type of cancer, and they were expecting me to die. There was no chance of an operation, of radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or something similar. They left me to waste away…. Six years have passed and I’m living in my seventh year since then, and I don’t know how. After the stomach operation I had, which completely cut up my insides, for twelve years I couldn’t eat. Two years after that, I was a bit better.

A.E.: Your Elder, St. Silouan, wanted you to see his official canonization by the Church.

E.S.: And I don’t know how the providence of Christ made it happen. He placed me at the feet of my Elder. The contemporary spiritual, theological problem concerns the person [πρόσωπο]…I lived completely by revelation. Revelation reveals that “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). If He says, “I am” it means that He is a person. This is why in one of the chapters in the book to which I referred earlier I note that the word “I” has great significance. For it expresses the person. God says, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). Science cannot say this. Only revelation can say this. And we need to base ourselves on revelation, which the Lord never refuted…. So, when I sent the book that is right behind you to His All Holiness [the Ecumenical Patriarch], I didn’t want to write a theological textbook, but simply to describe the experience of an Orthodox monk.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Among my dearest memories from my homeland, the islandof Puerto Rico, U.S., is the sweet melodious chant of theCoqui which began every evening at sunset and continuedlong after I was already asleep. This song was my lullaby forthe first twenty years of my life.

I took it for granted. I was as certain the Coqui would sing forme again the following night, as I was certain the sun wouldrise again in the morning sky. But for my last twenty-six yearsof residence in the mainland, I haven't had the joy of knowingthat my little friends are outside, resting on the leaves of Bromeliads and serenading me into sleep. I now realize thewonder of God's creation and the magnificence of this gift.

It is the same when it comes to God's blessings that he bestowsupon us in the Church. Just today, I was remembering thearoma from the relics of the Apostle Paul, which I have had theprivilege of venerating many times during my pilgrimagesto Greece.

Reliquary of the Apostle Paul in the Church of the Apostol Paulin Thessaloniki, GreeceI can think of many other relics, the relics of the Apostle Andrew,St Gregory Palamas , St Demetrius, St Stephen the First Martyr,St Basil the Great, St John Chrysostom, etc and I can't help feelingoverwhelmed by the fact that I actually was there and venerated all of these awesome saints of our Orthodox Church. The reality ofthese blessings begs the question, "Why me?".

Relics of the Apostle Andrew in Karyes, Mount Athos, Greece

But it is not only the possibility of venerating the wonder-workingrelics of the saints, gushing with Holy Myrrhon, that amazes me.What about the fact that we, as Orthodox Christians may partakeof the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ at every DivineLiturgy celebrated in our parishes, if we are prepared.

Fr Zacharias Zacharou, the disciple of Blessed Elder Sophronyof Essex tells us that Fr Sophrony, until the very end of his lifehad an inspiration for the Divine Liturgy. It was as if every DivineLiturgy was the first, so much so, that by the time he (ElderSophrony) stood in front of the Holy Altar, he was already rapt inhis spirit, in communion with God.

Consider the comfort it is to know, that if we fall into sin, our Lordis always willing to receive us in repentance through the sacra-mental act of absolution by our priest. This is a labor of love constantly taking place in our communities, an Orthodox priestwilling to sacrifice the opportunity of spending time with his familyon Saturday night, so that he may help us to be reconciled to Godand receive in this way sacramental absolution of our sins.

I am afraid that many times I have behaved as if these blessingswere only the playing out of the routine of my life but they are not.They are a precious gift from God to us. Why me?, I asked and theanswer is as simple as it is fathomless. It is so because God lovesus.

From now on, every time I listen to my recording of the melody ofthe Coqui, I want to remember that God's mercies are alsonew every morning and that the daily blessings from the life inChrist are nothing less than miraculous indeed.

Monday, November 7, 2011

The long-awaited revised editon of THE ASCETICAL HOMILIES OF ST. ISAAC THE SYRIAN is here!

(ASH) THE ASCETICAL HOMILIES OF SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN, Revised Edition, translated by Holy Transfiguration Monastery, are sublime treatises on the life of prayer and stillness—hesychasm—and have been treasured by monastics and layman alike. The book includes among other things an introduction discussing what we know of the Saint's life and the manuscripts of the homilies and the various translations of them, with maps, and Appendices with homilies by Saint Isaac only in the Syriac, a Glossary of special terms, and more. Includes all the homilies by Saint Isaac in the first edition plus two newly translated from the Syriac that were omitted from the first edition. A major work of scholarship. Fine cloth bound edition, 6 x 9-3/4 in, printed in two colors on archival paper. Appendices B and D and the Epilogue on the Persian Church are not included, but are available as a free download from www.thehtm.org 608pp. e$70.00 Order from St Nectarios Press and Bookstore

We Shall See Him As He Is by Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov, ISBN 0-9512786-4-9

Wisdom. Let Us Attend: Job, The Fathers, and The Old Testament by Johanna Manley, ISBN: 0-9622536-4-2

Words of Life by Archimandrite Sophrony, Trans. by Sister Magdalen, ISBN1-874679-11-8

Writings from The Philokalia On Prayer of The Heart, Trans. by E. Kadloubovsky and G.E.H. Palmer, ISBN: 0-571-16393-9

This is a journal of my experience as

an Orthodox Christian with an

emphasis on my inner struggle, in

particular; the search for the 'heart'

and its purification, which is the way

to God and to our participation in

His Uncreated Energy.It includes photos and stories of my

travels to Greece, Serbia, Israel and

England.

An Orthodox Pilgrim

"Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" Matthew 7:14

“Bear in mind that for cleansing your heart from sins you will obtain an infinite reward- you will see God, your most gracious creator, your providence. The work of cleansing the heart is difficult, because it is connected with great privations and afflictions; and therefore, the reward is great. ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God’Matt. 5:8 St John of Kronstadt

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'The soul that has known the Lord

wants to see Him within her at all

times, for the Lord enters the soul

in quietness and gives her peace,

and bears silent witness to

salvation" St Silouan of Athos

"At the edge of your heart the Lord is standing with a tall candle that burns without smoking or melting. The Lord is standing and waiting at your invitation, to bring the candle into your heart and enlighten it, to burn up all the fear in your heart, all its selfish passions and all its ugly desires, and to drive out of your heart all the smoke and foul stench. At the edge of your mind the Lord is standing with His wisdom and with His Word, ready, at your invitation, to enter into it and drive out all its foolish thoughts, all its filthy fancies, and all its mistaken notions, and to erase from your mind all nonexistent images — the Lord is standing and waiting to introduce His reason, His seals, and His words." St Nikolai Velimirovich in Prayers by the Lake LXXIX

A Prayer by St Dimitri of Rostov

Open, O doors and bolts of my heart that Christ the King of Glory may enter!Enter, O my Light and enlighten my darkness;enter, O my Life, and resurrect my deadness;enter, O my Physician and heal my wounds;enter, O Divine Fire, and burn up the thorns of my sins;ignite my inward parts and my heart with the flame of Thy love;enter, O my King, and destroy in me the kingdom of sin;sit on the throne of my heart and alone reign in me,O Thou, my King and Lord.

The Heart is the Battlefield of Our Salvation

What is the heart?, "Thus, asthe bodily heart is the centerof the body's life, the spiritualheart is the center of ourspiritual life",Fr Spyridon Logothetis

Where is the heart? "The heartis within our chest. When wespeak of the heart, we speak ofour spiritual heart which coinci-des with the fleshly one; butwhen man receives illuminationand sanctification, then hiswhole being becomes a heart".Fr Zacharias Zacharou

"(God) is the One who hasfashioned the heart of every manin an unique and unrepeatable way"Fr Zacharias Zacharou.

"It is astonishingly great that Godthe Father, poured from His Spirita noetic sensation (noera aesthisis)or breath to the bodily hearts ofthose who rightly believed in theincarnate Logos". St Kallistos

A heart that has been made aliveby the waters of holy baptism andregeneration of the Holy Spirit hasthe kingdom of God within, "thekingdom of God is within you".Luke 17:21

"Since the kingdom of God is withinus, the heart is the battlefield ofour salvation, and all ascetic effortis aimed at cleansing it of allfilthiness, and preserving it purebefore the Lord". Fr Zacharias

The darkness and desolation of aheart ravished by sin is indeedapalling. In a heart that has notbeen purified, "there aredragons and there are lions;there are poisonous beasts andall the treasures of evil".St Macarius

"For it is within you, that is, itdepends upon your own wills, andit is in your own power, whetheror not you receive it. For everyman who has attained tojustification by means of faith inChrist, and is adorned by allvirtue, is counted worthy of thekingdom of heaven".St Cyril of Alexandria

And with the kingdom we receiveall the treasures of Grace. "Butthere is also God, also the angels,the life and the kingdom, the lightand the apostles, the treasures ofGrace -there are all things".St Macarius

Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.Lead me in the path of yourcommandments, for I delight in it.Turn my heart to your decrees, andnot to selfish gain.Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; give me life in your ways.Psalm 119:34-37

Prayer of Archimandrite Sophrony of Essex

"Oh Lord, I am weak. Thou knowest

this. In fear I seek the way to Thee.

Despise me not. Forsake me not in

my fall. Draw near even unto me,

who am of no account, yet I thirst

after Thee. Take up Thine abode

in me and do Thou Thyself perform

in me all that Thou hast

commanded of us. Make me Thine

for ever and ever, in love

unshakeable."

Recommended Reading List is at the bottom of the posts.

About Me

I am a lay Orthodox Christian.
Education: B.Sc. Biology and Chemistry, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, P.R.; The George Washington University, Medical Technology, Associate member of the American Society for Clinical Pathology